Freshman Branch’s electric 2-TD debut lifts USC
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Paolo Uggetti, ESPN
LOS ANGELES — For about one half of football, the 2023 version of USC looked like a lot like the 2022 version.
In its season opener against San Jose State on Saturday night, the No. 6-ranked Trojans scored plenty of points but also struggled at times to keep their opponents from doing the same.
Quarterback Caleb Williams began his repeat Heisman campaign by picking up where he left off, throwing for 278 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-28 win. But the new-look defense was once again shaky, showing flashes of the team’s added talent but struggling to contain a mobile quarterback.
“No matter what the score was, if this was a three-point game, if it was a 28-point game, if it was a 50-point game, there’s gonna be that climb to the next step,” head coach Lincoln Riley said postgame. “And that’s where our focus is gonna stay. A lot of work to do, and we’re the right people to get it done.”
Last season, Williams often rendered inconsistent defensive performances moot by himself. He got some help Saturday, when another star emerged in the form of true freshman receiver Zachariah Branch. The No. 7 recruit in the 2023 ESPN 300, Branch took over the third quarter and zoomed his way to 232 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns on just nine touches, including a dazzling 96-yard kickoff return for a score that helped cement the result.
Branch, who arrived on campus in the spring, had attracted rave reviews from his teammates throughout fall camp, but it was unclear how much playing time or impact he would have. After just one game, Branch can lay claim to one of the most electric debuts in USC football history and a role that should continue to grow.
“He made an impact on offense, he made an impact on special teams. He earned it,” said Riley, who notably doesn’t allow freshmen to speak to media. Branch sat alongside him in the press conference. “He did a good job of not trying to do too much, which guys in their first game will sometimes do.”
The 19-year-old from Bishop Gorman High School began his career by catching a pass from Williams in the third quarter and bursting his way into the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Branch unleashed his showstopper. After catching a kickoff near USC’s end zone, Branch began jogging and surveying the field in front of him as if he was mapping out his route. Then, he took off, not merely dodging defenders with his moves, but flying past them as if playing at an entirely different speed. His final move — a cutback near the 20-yard line that gave him an open lane toward the end zone — made the entire stadium gasp.
It also forced Branch to answer postgame questions about his speed.
“My fastest 40 time? I ran 4.38 at the UA camp,” Branch said, recalling the numbers quickly. “My 100 time, I ran 10.3 my sophomore year in high school.”
Branch’s kickoff return for a touchdown was the first for a USC true freshman since Adoree’ Jackson in the 2014 Holiday Bowl — fitting, given that there are plenty of similarities between the two players. Both are listed as wide receivers but are borderline position-less, utilizing incredible speed and agility to outmatch defenses, be it by catching the ball, running it, or taking off on kickoffs and punts.
On Saturday, by the time Branch touched the ball again on a punt return a few series later, all eyes were on him in anticipation of what he might do next. In the span of a few plays, Branch had become one of the most exciting players on the field.
“You don’t have to put it into words once you’re saying it every day, you know?” fellow receiver Tahj Washington said of Branch’s talent.
Branch is one of several players that make up the Trojans’ deep receiver room. In total, 12 players caught passes from either Williams or backup Miller Moss on Saturday. But despite the talent at that position — and an increase in talent at nearly every position heading into this year — Williams said there was some frustration in the opener with the lack of consistency throughout the team.
“In the first half I just felt like we weren’t hitting on certain calibers and things like that, that we’re gonna hit on here soon,” Williams said. “We got a long way to go and a lot to get better at.”
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Kristen Shilton
EDMONTON, Alberta — Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz is back in the lineup for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday.
The club’s top skater, sidelined since Game 2, when he took a slash to the left leg from Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, was placed on the top line, alongside Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen after taking warmups and line rushes prior to puck drop.
Hintz also took part in warmups before Game 3 on Sunday but exited early and was ruled out. He was back on the ice for Dallas’ optional practice Monday and told reporters he was “feeling good” and “trying to do everything I can” to get back in for Game 4.
It was early in the third period of Game 2 when Hintz — parked in front of the Oilers’ net — shoved Nurse from behind, and the Oilers’ blueliner responded by swinging his stick at Hintz’s leg. Hintz went down to the ice for several minutes before being helped off by Lian Bichsel and Mikael Granlund.
Nurse received a two-minute penalty for the slash but no supplementary discipline from the league. The blueliner addressed the incident publicly for the first time Tuesday, saying it didn’t come with malicious intent.
“I was backing up to net and I got shot in the back. And I think it was just a natural reaction [to respond],” Nurse said. “It’s probably a play that everyone in this room, whether you’re a net-front guy or D man, probably happens a dozen, two dozen times in a year. It’s unfortunate that I must have got [Hintz] in a bad spot. You don’t want to go out there and hurt anyone. But it was just one of those plays that happens so often.”
Having Hintz unavailable hurt the Stars in Game 3, a 6-1 drubbing by the Oilers that put Dallas in a 2-1 hole in the best-of-seven series. Hintz is the Stars’ second-leading scorer in the postseason, with 11 goals and 15 points through 15 games. He was hopeful when taking warmups Sunday that he’d feel good enough to get back in, but a quick discussion with the training staff made it clear he wasn’t ready.
Before Tuesday night, coach Peter DeBoer had since classified Hintz’s status as day-to-day.
“Of course you want to go every night, but sometimes you just can’t,” Hintz said. “I don’t know how close I [was to playing]. But I have played many years [and I] know when it’s good and when it’s not. I should be good to know that [when] it comes to that decision.”
The Oilers will have some lineup changes of their own to sort through in Game 4. Connor Brown, who is out after taking a hit from Alexander Petrovic in Game 3, will be replaced by Viktor Arvidsson. Calvin Pickard, injured in Edmonton’s second-round series against Vegas, will return to back up Stuart Skinner. And Edmonton continues to wait on defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who is getting closer to returning from a lower-body injury.
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Kristen Shilton
EDMONTON, Alberta — NHL official Chris Rooney was back on the ice Tuesday night for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars.
It was the veteran referee’s conference finals debut, and a fitting return for Rooney given the circumstances. It was Rooney’s first game since he took a high stick to the face on May 17 during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference second-round series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.
Rooney was injured 13 seconds into the second period when Panthers’ defenseman Niko Mikkola caught him with the end of his stick while fighting for a puck. Rooney fell to the ice and was tended to by trainers from both teams.
While bloodied, he was able to leave under his own power. Rooney sustained a black eye and received stitches for his injury but had no lasting damage. He was replaced at the time by Garrett Rank, in the building on standby in case on injury.
It was clear even the day after his injury that Rooney, 50, hoped to resume duties at some point in the playoffs. The Boston native was finally able to step in for Game 4 with fellow referee Dan O’Rourke.
The pair was joined by linesmen Ryan Gibbons and Matt MacPherson. Referee Graham Skilliter and linesman Ryan Daisy were in the building as alternates.
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Kristen Shilton
EDMONTON, Alberta — Edmonton Oilers‘ top-line forward Zach Hyman was ruled out for the rest of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday against the Dallas Stars after taking a hit from forward Mason Marchment, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported on the game broadcast.
The first-period collision appeared to immediately rattle Hyman, who dropped his stick and seemed to favor his right arm or wrist. Hyman went directly to the Oilers’ dressing room and did not return.
Hyman has been a key member of the Oilers’ postseason success, registering a league-leading 119 hits in 14 playoff games and scoring five goals and 11 points. He’s a fixture on the team’s top forward unit with Connor McDavid and is part of both the Oilers’ power play and penalty kill.
Edmonton was already down a forward going into Game 4 with Connor Brown sidelined after a hit from Dallas defenseman Alexander Petrovic in Sunday’s Game 3. Viktor Arvidsson returned to the lineup as Brown’s replacement on the fourth line.
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